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Monday, November 9, 2015

Will we run out of stuff to say?

Today’s
blog is written for a couple of different purposes. First, it is a heads-up
that several future blogs may reference or revolve around the newest edition to
our family, baby Charlotte. Yes, if you are keeping score at home, she is
nearly 6 weeks old and has yet to have so much as a mention in any of my Monday
posts (until now). That is partly because I have displayed great restraint but
mainly because I have some thoughts simmering in the crock-pot of my mind.
They’ll soon be ready, and well, just know that you’ve been warned ahead of
time. Secondly, I write because since her birth, really for months leading up
to it, I have experienced a rejuvenated desire to write and record some of the little
gospel glimpses that the Lord has shown me. It’s these pictures of His truth
reflected in every day life that have stirred my heart in some new,
invigorating ways. And it is this very thing that I want to discuss today.

Have
you ever wondered how a preacher is to come up with something new to say each week? I have. Heck, I
still do. Yes, the Bible is an inexhaustible, life-giving spring that will
never run dry; one could teach on every verse of every page for the rest of his life and yet never plumb the depths of its fullness. However, despite the
enormity of Scripture, its message is central throughout. Whether looking
forward to Jesus’ coming in the OT, reflecting on His life, teachings, and church
in the NT, Christ is what it is all
about. Man has made a mess of things, but God has given us the remedy in His gospel.
He is reconciling all things to Himself. He has been gracious to us from the
Garden until now, and He forever will be. So wherever one digs into the Word,
if he thoroughly excavates the text, he will ultimately discover God’s
redemptive plan unfolding. All roads lead to a bloody cross and an empty tomb.

So how
then is one to teach this week after week without seeming redundant? How can
one deliver this message of hope sermon after sermon, without it starting to
sound stale? How does the precious story of Jesus maintain its precious status? How can one keep from
becoming too familiar with the
gospel? How can Christ’s cross be powerfully proclaimed from the pulpit year
after year and not become a mere repetition of church-goer clichés that have lost
their significance? Searching for the answer to these questions is vital, not
only to those in vocational ministry, but also to each and every believing
soul! This Jesus that has saved us, is saving us, and will keep us safe until
the end. This truth we have in our mind, but how might we keep such knowledge
treasured within our heart?

So for
me, the solution to this inquiry has come through seeing God’s grace in our
fourth child (again, you’ve been warned that the blogs will be coming), through
my Grandpa’s life of ministry (to be shared on another day), and most recently
through my pastor, Dr. Phil Sallee. He has served as the lead pastor of New
Beginnings Church for over 20 years now! In fact, we will be celebrating this
milestone as a church family next Sunday. As I’ve reflected on what I know of
Phil and how I’ve seen God at work in his life and ministry, I’ve come to a
conclusion. For us to sidestep the enemy’s blindsiding blitz that forces our
neglect of God’s glorious gospel, we must strive to seek this sweet gift working
in our individual lives daily.

This
means that we must not only focus on the challenges before us, we must also see
God as instrumental in our past as well. This includes seeing the Lord’s
guidance in each step of life. For my pastor, there was a reason it took 3
baptisms before he finally found a faith that was his own. It means there was a
purpose for Phil growing up on Tulsa’s eastside at a time when it more closely resembled
today’s suburban South Tulsa (Aka = it was not the same “East Tulsa” that our
Middle School Family Pastor, Mike Krebs, grew up in). It means observing God’s
hand in Phil’s enrollment to Tulsa University, where he would eventually meet his
bride, to observing God’s providence that not only led his family to Colorado
for a season, but later brought him back home after the death of his father so
that he could help care for his mother and brother. Seeing the gospel at work
each day involves trusting in God to be completely sufficient. When called to
take on a church plant that had formed after a church-split, a group that had
formally met in a funeral home, there would be no other way for Phil and his
congregation to succeed outside of leaning upon Christ.

NBC has
grown during Phil’s tenure and has changed worship gathering locations on
several occasions, moving from the dress shop, to the Bixby high school commons
/ lunchroom area, to the HS auditorium, to the middle school gymnasium, to the
HS gym, to a plot of land out west of town that hosts the current campus. Of course this came into being in not one, but
through two separate building campaigns.Without personally witnessing
God’s gospel at work, Phil, and really any pastor, would have been sunk with
all the details and capital demands. Yet, the church has flourished under his
leadership, I believe, because Phil has seen God’s sustaining grace through it
all. He has observed the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of people.

How
again can one proclaim the Savior’s story over and again without the message somehow
growing tired? I contend that he must notice the gospel shadows in his very
home. For Phil, he has articulated to me personally, as well as our local body,
how his relationship with his only son has provided special and specific
pictures of God’s love. He has perhaps never preached with as much passion as
the seasons revolving around the wedding dates of his daughters, in which he
performed both ceremonies. Phil’s enjoyment of his granddaughters and the
faithful love and support of his wife have resulted in fresh stories to tell,
new arrows that point to the God of the gospel (not suggesting that those
stories have not been retold a time or two).

But Phil’s
20 years have not always been easy. Friends and loved ones have passed; NBC has
not escaped its share of tragedy. Staff and congregants have come and gone.
Some moved on with a blessing and mutual appreciation, yet on the way out, others
took verbal jabs aimed at wounding a pastor that loved them. There may be no
greater megaphone for God’s grace than to forgive those who would intentionally
injure. I’m in no way claiming my pastor is perfect and without fault. None of
us are. What I am saying is that 9 years of knowing this man coupled with 4+
years of serving alongside him in a full-time capacity have allowed me to see a
lot. I’ve seen forgiveness extended when it was not easy. Why? I think it was
only because of Phil’s awareness that he has been forgiven of so much more. If
a man will daily see his own depravity and unfit status to preach, well, as
some have said, he is finally at that
point, on the path to being ready to preach. God has gifted Phil with this
kind of spiritual introspection.

Being
able to tell the old, old story in a variety of ways involves spending time in
the Word – feeding on it, meditating and reflecting upon it, fleshing it out in
life but also with a pen. Though I have not and will not read each blog (you
guys are lucky if I even proofread my own), I know that weekly, Phil devotes a
great amount of time to writing. He processes through what he is seeing and
experiencing in life and Scripture and shares with us how it should turn our
eyes heavenward. It is only in genuine exegetical exploration that one can find
reasons for rejoicing in the Minor Prophets. You remember the Malachi series,
right? Now we’re in Joel…Joel!!

I could
go on and on with more examples, but then you might miss the point. How does a
guy find something to say week after week? He learns to cling to the gospel daily.
So then, what are you to take from
this? Surely I’ve not spent an entire block of time talking up my pastor for the
sake of his self-esteem. Surely there’s
a lesson in this for me and you. Think for a moment, what stirs your affections
for Jesus each day? How or in what ways does this happen? We must desire to
master the art of seeking our Savior in all things. For when we see Him
presently revealing His goodness in our lives, we can’t help but share such
grace with others. When we see Him, we share Him and thank Him. This concept I’m
describing involves more than what some preacher might find to say or blog
about. If we are to have longevity and vitality in ministry, we must first find
the gospel as active and growing in our own lives. What is true for Phil, is
true for me and it is the same for you as well. Are you seeing what God is
trying to show you today? Do you currently see His undeserved favor at play in
your life?

As John Piper says, “God
is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”
When He allows us to see these things, how do we respond? May we think
on God’s grace that is made evident each day, and might the awareness of His merciful
hand continue to change our lives. Oh that we’d live many, many years making
His gospel known in ways that draw others unto Him, all while breathing life
into our very souls.

About Me

NBFamilies is the name of the Family Ministry at New Beginnings Church. We believe that God has called parents to serve as the primary disciple-makers and faith influencers in their children’s lives. NBFamilies partners with parents to grow vibrant followers of Christ who will change to world.